We recently got off phone with gentleman in L.A. who owed the IRS 100k and was recently quoted a fee from someone on this list for $8000 to represent him on his tax problem and possibly pursue an Offer in Compromise on his debt. That's a pretty high quote. So we wanted to explore the components that make up a fee for representation and to determine what constitutes a reasonable fee:
Here's some criteria that could increase (or reduce) our standard $1750 fee for such a case:
1. Urgency. If you have a levy against you that has to be released - you should expect to pay a slight premium.
2. Self employment. Being in business for yourself means more paperwork and other complexities like the need to be current on this year's taxes. Self-employment could increase your fee.
3. Amount of savings. You really shouldn't charge someone for how much you'll save them. BUT if you are settling a $1.7 million debt for $50,000 - there's got to be some bonus fee for that :)
4. Is a Revenue Officer (RO) assigned? In 2017 with a severely hampered IRS, the cases that are serious are those that are assigned to a RO. ROs will levy if deadlines aren't met so their cases are more serious.
